I’ll you, ten years from now, you’ll hear about some underground event what’s been gaining in popularity and I’ll bet you it will have gotten its start on one of these Bay Area beaches that you can see in the photo.

I’ll tell you, Mavericks used to be something, man. But now it’s all corporate and shit, man.

Sort of.

Hey, isn’t the Mavericks surf contest just like the Burning Man? Just look where they got started – same beach, different county:

Click to expand

I’ll you, ten years from now, you’ll hear about some underground event what’s been gaining in popularity and I’ll bet you it will have gotten its start on one of these Bay Area, Pacific Coast beaches that you can see in the photo.

Anyway, Mavs is on, once again, this coming Sunday, January 20th, 2013.

Now back in the day, to see Mavericks you’d just park you ride on the Pacific Coast Highway and then ride your bikes to the beach. Easy peasy.

And then they’d let you climb up on the bluff for a good view (even though people fell off of it all the time).

This thing:

(Mmmm… why do these rocks a “breakwater”)

And then they didn’t want people on the bluff so they put up an “event village” or something on the beach below.

Half Moon Bay, CA/San Francisco, CA – August 3, 2010 – On the heels of perhaps the greatest big-wave surfing contest in history last February, Mavericks is back and bigger than ever. Preparations are underway for the 8th annual Mavericks Surf Contest® showcasing 24 of the world’s finest big-wave surfers battling for the largest prize purse in big-wave surfing. The 2010/2011 Contest is poised to return to Half Moon Bay, California later this year and will include a number of enhancements to bring Mavericks to an even broader audience, while continuing to honor the spot, the riders, and the local community.

The Contest Is Back. Mavericks Surf Ventures is very proud to make this first announcement laying the groundwork for the 2010/2011 Mavericks Surf Contest®, picking up right where last season left off. The dedicated team has been very busy in the off-season and has just completed a fundraising round that will greatly benefit this year’s event, the riders, the coastside community, and the future of Mavericks and big-wave surfing for years to come. “Our goal is to keep the focus on the soul of the event and respect for the spot, giving the power to the surfers to make ‘the call’ and helping to bring the Mavericks’ ocean phenomenon to a broader global audience,” said Mavericks CEO Keir J. Beadling.

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office is going to hold a “critical incident debrief” this morning down in Moss Beach – organizers of the 2010 Mavericks Surf Contest have been invited to discuss the 2009-2010 season. The public and the media are specifically not invited. Well, that doesn’t sit well with some down Coastsigh-eeeeede way. Oh well.

“Mavericks Surf Ventures passes the buck to San Mateo County, County Counsel Michael Murphy passes the buck to Harbor District Manager Peter Grenell who passes the buck to Vandenberg Air Force Base who promptly pass the buck to Army Corps of Engineers and then the buck circles back to Mavericks Surf Ventures.”

“We feel for the Rivers family and it was a terrible accident. But we’ve always regarded safety issues with the utmost importance. All managers have taken and will be taking all measures necessary to provide a safe contest for surfers and visitors.”

IMO, the post-injury palliative cliches from 2006 don’t square with the post-injury palliative cliches from 2010.

“It was an honor just to be here today and paddle out with these other guys. I flew 36 hours to be here, and this has been a dream come true.” – Chris Bertish, 09/10 Champion
———-
“The entire book of big wave surfing was re-written today.” – Greg Long
———-
“These were definitely the biggest waves I have ever paddled into.” – Shane Desmond
———-
“No excuses on a day like today, it was perfect. Whatever you wanted, you could take.” – Anthony Tashnick———-
“It was undoubtedly the largest surf any paddle-in contest has ever seen.” – Dave Wassel———-
“There is such a brotherhood in the lineup. These people are my family.” – Carlos Burle
———-
“Today took big-wave surfing to another notch.” – Gary Linden, Head Judge”

Having said that, let’s take a look at higher-def footage of the problem, ably shot by KRON VJ (video jockey) Haaziq Madyun. And here’s the reverse angle. And ganderize your eyes on this bird’s-eye view of the scene. If this were the Olympics, this would be the Olympic Village:

So please let’s go easy on any more nagging, patronizing Respect The Ocean talk coming from MSV, considering that MSV and its sponsors appeared to be just as unaware as some of the spectators.

In other words, if this unsecured P.A. loudspeaker ended up killing a fan, all the DANGER: HEAVY SURF signs in all Christendom wouldn’t save your hides from a dead-bang, seven-figure wrongful death lawsuit. (If you think you see a bunch of people people in the water around the speaker in the video, your guess is correct.)

So that is exactly “how on Earth we [MSV] could be responsible for people willfully going to the ocean.”

“The Maverick’s contest organizers probably realize that, in retrospect, it was unwise to put scaffolding and platforms in an exposed area and then allow spectators too close to the high tide line and a seawall along the Pillar Point coastline.”

You see? That’s why the party line of having MSV reps repeatedly bleating about how spectators just need some common sense doesn’t wash.

Now do I think that this fellow (people never seem to let go of their cameras or their beer, huh?) and others who got banged up by the surf on their own will win any possible lawsuits their shysters file? No.

From the bluff, with people on the rocky seawall getting inundated by the wave:

Those are temporary structures temporarily in the water.

Here’s view from the seawall during the 2005 Contest, looking up at the bluff – nice and dry that year. Click to expand:

UPDATE: Comes now KRON Channel 4 FTW. Their video shows the same wave as the one shown above crashing through the seawall like it was nothing. The beach here has more than its fair share of random boulders, hence the danger:

After two long years of lulls, get ready for some lulz and excitement. The long wait, she is over:

From January 12, 2008: Darryl “Flea” Virostko was a tad aggressive in the first round. Not too long ago he went though rehab (“FleaHab” they calling the program) – look for him to do well. Click to expand:

*Assuming you have a reason to go. Assuming you are really, really up for it. Otherwise:

“NOTE: IN AN EFFORT TO LIMIT CROWD IMPACT ON THE HALF MOON BAY AREA AND COASTAL ECO-SYSTEMS, WE ARE ENCOURAGING ALL MAVERICKS FANS TO WATCH THE CONTEST VIA FREE LIVE WEBCAST OR BY ATTENDING OUR LIVE VIEWING PARTY AT AT&T PARK IN SAN FRANCISCO. BOTH OPTIONS PROVIDE A MUCH BETTER VIEWING EXPERIENCE THAN THE VIEW FROM THE BEACH. IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING MAVERICKS IN-PERSON, PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL AND CAUTIOUS OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, AND LEAVE NO TRACE. PLEASE PARK IN THE OFFICIAL PARKING LOTS ONLY AND BE RESPECTFUL OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.”